


Greener Pastures

by BrownMouse



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: 2020, AU, Alternate Universe, Angst, Australia, Cute, Daddy Louis, Divorce, Drought, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Falling In Love, Family Feels, Farmer Louis, Horses, Hurt/Comfort, I Don't Even Know, Larry Stylinson Is Real, M/M, Original Character(s), Original Female Character(s) - Freeform, Original Fiction, Real Life Problems, Romance, SOS, bush fires, country, lol, marriage issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-27
Updated: 2020-03-27
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:55:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23342083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrownMouse/pseuds/BrownMouse
Summary: Wind swept, dry and barron lands maybe, but somewhere the grass is always greener.Louis could hear his heart thumping in his chest and he watched as Harry opened up his suitcase, reaching in to retrieve a wide-brimmed hat of his own. “Guess I gotta get used to wearing this everyday..” He popped it on his head, moving it back and forth with one hand until it sat sturdy over his dark hair.ORLouis is a family man, working the land, he is a country boy.So is Harry, and somehow their worlds collide.
Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson, Louis Tomlinson/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 4





	Greener Pastures

**Author's Note:**

> Have never written a Larry before.. This is dangerous territory. 
> 
> This is an AU.

Blanched land, rugged and timeless, not a drop of green, not a crop in sight. Maimed corn throngs instead, had become his new vision. Where he used to see gold, he now saw dust. Don’t pity this.. He tried to berate himself.. For who else was going to do that for him? Certainly not his Etta.  
Sitting here a top his deck, that had weathered and beaten from the rain they had seen a year ago, he drew a breath, clutching his pipe in his left hand. He knew he was too close to the house, noting that the door tapped against its ledge behind him - it was ajar. He released the air in his lungs anyway, relishing the feeling, enjoying the serenity, knowing there was just a minute or two before it would be snatched away from him.  
He hoped the smoke that filled his chest would move to cloud his mind also, take the pain away for just a second. The truth was, naught, nothing could steal his attention away from the devastation that lay in front of him.. From the grey outlines of the distant fig tree, they had once stood under.. It’s canopy of thick green providing shade for when they had married there. Henrietta had worn a veil over her face at 3o’clock that afternoon. When he had moved to sit it back over her hair, he had been surprised that he could see her face clearly in the glare of day. The coverage of the greenery had been enough to allow them to gaze at each other with love & ease.  
Possibly the tree knew it was sacred to him, to his family. The tree had a strong hold to the ground, when the flames had tore through his paddocks, wiping out his cattle & his crops, it had held steadfast, roots decades old were solid in the soil. The leaves were gone, the accents and enhancements weren’t there, but the beauty remained. To him, it was more than beautiful.

“Louis!” Etta’s voice rang through the hallway behind him and as quick as he’d drew his first breath, he puffed out what was left and stamped it underneath his shoe. “Lou, I’m still working to get the smell of smoke out of our clothes, take it away..” She was agitated but it was nothing he couldn’t handle. The feel of her hands that were now pressed down into his shoulders, were enough to tell him she could handle it also. He looked up at her then, motioning for her to come sit beside him on the step of their balcony. Her blue eyes were ashy today, most days they were, unless she wore something bright, but she rarely did. She was clad in a deep brown cotton dress, that hugged her hips gently and split low in a crescent moon against her soft cleavage, her shoulders were bare and spotted from the sun. When she leant in to rest her wild & tousled blonde hair against his, she smelt of acrylic paint and warmth.. She smelt of their home and baked goods, and of their children. He pulled her in closer, turning his nose to press against her skin and inhale her. “My love, what are we going to do?” Her voice was delicate, like it was moments away from breaking, and Louis looked down at her just in time to see a single tear fall. “We have ties here Etta.. My brother.. He won’t sell.. You know that..” Louis sighed, shifting away from his wife slightly so he could look her in the eye. This was all they had been talking about for weeks, ever since the fire had swept half their farm to rubble. They had not enough money to sit and wait while their land restored itself.. It would be months and months and they needed income. They had animals to care for and children to raise. They had racked their minds for options, for alternatives. Etta was insistent they turn to Louis’ older brother Wade for help, he had inherited half the estate when their Grandparents had died. Their Grandfather was a generational farmer, stretching way back, these acres had been in their family for many years. His own Father had been the one to break the link, at 17 he moved from their farm in country Victoria to the big smoke of the city. He became a journalist with a leading lady and a ticket to travel, he never looked back. When Louis and Wade were just small children, their parents often left them to stay with their Grandparents. His love for the place he now called home grew from the very first moment he laid eyes upon their fig tree. From the very first moment he sat upon the chestnut mare his Grandfather had bought him for his seventh Birthday.. He’d called her Turner, and she was the very first love of his life.  
“Louis, are you listening to me? I’m not asking for much here.. Just call your brother.” Etta was pleading with him now, hanging onto his elbow with one hand and reaching up to cup his cheek in the other.  
“I’ll deal with it.. Look I’ll call him, if it makes you happy.. But he’s not going to buy us out, and he’s not going to sell either.. He’s a right ass, and you know that!” He rose to his feet and dropped a kiss to the top of Etta’s head. “Make him understand Louis.. Otherwise you’ll have to go find work elsewhere and I’ll have to run the farm by myself.. It’s our only options.” She said, raising herself to stand before him. He nodded, and placed his hand to the side of her cheek, repeating the same action she had done to him only moments ago. “If it comes to that.. Then that’s what we’ll do.” He brought her in further until their lips barely touched, with both their eyes closed, they rested their foreheads together. His hands were at her face and hers were at his sides, they anchored themselves as one, just as strong as their tree that stood without its leaves. Louis let his gaze wander over Etta’s shoulder until it reached the tall, grey stature where he marvelled at it once again. If it could still stand, so could they. 

“Daddy!” Louis turned around from where he stood in the dim light of the stable.. There was shiny, black horse flesh pressing up against him as he tried to manoeuvre his way out of the stall and into the hall of the barn. “Move over boy..” He gave his best lads neck a slap and was met with a gob-full of green saliva to his t-shirt. “Where are ya Till?” He stuck his head out into the open, smirking when he noticed that in the stall opposite from him, he could see Etta’s tattered old cowgirl hat just poking up above the stable door. Tilly had most likely raided her mother’s wardrobe for that. His daughter had her head burrowed against her favourite pony’s neck.. and Louis could tell she was dressed for a ride. “I see you.. and I know what you want.. But you’re a little too late! They’re all fed and-“ He was forced to stop mid-sentence when the sorrowful noise interrupted him. Tilly was sobbing into the horses mane, gripping onto the golden hair like it was her life force. “Baby, what’s wrong? What is it?” He quickly moved inside the stall, bringing Tilly into his grasp and lifting the seven year old up into his arms. She had latched onto Louis’ neck with both arms, her tears dampened his skin and he soothed her, running a hand up and down her back. “Please Daddy, don’t leave me.. Mama said you have to go work away..” She cried, and Louis cursed at Etta within his mind, he had wanted to explain to the kids in his own way.. So as to avoid this kind of heartbreak. “Honey, it’s okay, I’m not leaving you.” It was true, he wasn’t leaving them at all.. It definitely wasn’t the ideal situation, but it was one that Louis knew would come to pass. Just a few days earlier he had been on the phone to his brother, Louis was unsurprised to learn that Wade had wanted nothing to do with their financial predicament.. He had not offered to help in anyway, shape or form. It had forced them to take greater measures, Louis was to start work on a neighbouring farm, leaving Etta to care for their own land by herself.. Nursing it back to health, so that one day in the future, they could earn from it again. “It’s okay Till.. I’ll be going to work elsewhere during the days and then in the evenings, I’ll be back here with you and your brother and Mumma.. All just in time to help you have a ride before dinner.” He kissed her on the forehead as she moved out from the crook of his shoulder. “How about the other man that’s gonna live here? Are you gonna tell him he can’t touch my Polly?” She whined, reaching out to pet at her horses flickering ears. Louis nodded, but sighed in remembrance, they had a friend who had a friend.. who needed a place to live, in exchange he would work. Etta had been the one to shoot her hand up first. She was eager for the help.. So eager. She couldn’t do half the things that were on the list that Louis had written for her, plus mind the children at the same time. They took their friends word that the person who was coming to live in their run down second cottage, was an honest and trustworthy young man. Harry. Harry his name was. He would have to remind Etta of that.

The morning came too quickly and as Louis dressed himself in jeans, a plain shirt and boots, he took a moment to decide between a plain cap or his Akubra. He knew he would be mustering today, so he took his wide brim, popped it on his head without a glance and sauntered out of the room. The scent of caffeine lingered at his nose as he neared the bottom of the staircase. His Etta was there, dressed in a nightgown but she had a throw wrapped around her shoulders and it draped down all the way to rest at her feet on the cool timber floor. She greeted him with a kiss against his stubble, gently pressing a flask of hot coffee into his palms. “This is gonna work out Lou.. It’s gonna be okay..”  
He hummed in response and let his hand glide down her waist to sit just above her hip bones, resting for a moment, before dragging it back upwards towards the slope of her breasts, that sat bare beneath the sheer layer of navy chiffon that made up her loose nightdress. “I love you.. Don’t get too friendly with this fella please..” He teased, and they shared one last kiss before Louis went to set foot out the front door. 

Heading towards the barn, the crisp Victorian morning was deceiving now.. In just a few short hours it would be scorching, and Louis would have drenched through his cotton shirt.  
He heard the horses inside, they grumbled in anticipation, as hungry as he was most probably, but the horses got fed first, he would have something later. As he neared the building, he caught a glimpse of a white pickup travelling up his dirt drive, and Louis sighed in relief, he hadn’t wanted to leave his wife and children here without meeting their new tenant and hand first. He stopped just beside the timber worn barn, reaching his arm out to lean against the pails, and cocking the other at his hip-side, he hoped he appeared slightly intimidating, he wouldn’t say he was confident he did though. As the truck rolled in, the engine clunked off with a shudder, and Louis raised an eyebrow at the beaten state of this guys Ford, which would’ve been a good truck if it had been looked after right. Swinging the door open, it creaked loudly on its hinges, and Louis found himself getting more and more agitated by the minute.. Who was this guy who didn’t oil his engine up properly? “So I’d say first things first, I’ll give you my mechanics number, work on a farm mate, you need a working truck for starters..” Louis shifted to stand straight now, watching as the other man stepped out from behind the car door, slamming it shut and slapping the keys atop of the bonnet. “Don’t bother, this things about a wreck.. Don’s bringing in another truck for me to use tomorrow, I’ll trade him this one.. Sorry for the noise.. Not a great first impression.” Harry smiled as he spoke, his expression soft and genuine, and Louis found himself staring at the tangled mess of brown curls that were scattered around the other boys face. His eyes were piercing, green and honest, Louis could see youth in his features, he looked just a few years under him maybe.. But his skin was bright, unblemished & unmarked by manual labour like Louis’ was.  
His jaw angled in a masculine curve, his rough stubble was so short it was hard to see, but it added at least some wisdom to his face. He wore a white cotton shirt, though he’d left his top buttons undone, and the hem at the bottom was tucked into his pale jeans. They sat low on his hips, held in place by a studded belt. Harry’s boots were pointed, they were riding boots, and Louis was relieved at that. If this boy couldn’t drive his car, at least he could ride a horse.. So he decided to not let it bother him. “It’s fine, don’t worry about it.. It’s Louis by the way..” He held out his hand for Harry to take and the other complied with ease. “Harry. Really nice to meet you.. Thanks again for this.. I’m just glad to have some work.” Louis nodded in response, gesturing for the lad to follow him. “Come with me.. I’ll show you to your place..” He started forward, leading them towards the cottage that sat down the drive some more. It was quaint, small, timber and white, just like their main house, but it hadn’t been renovated, it was bound to be a pigsty. As he opened the door, a fresh scent wafted through, clean and floral almost. The studio seemed brighter? Whiter? Louis smiled to himself when he remembered the embrace he had shared with Etta earlier that week, and how he’d noticed she had smelt of paint. “Well, looks better than I remember it to be.. Etta, my wife, she must’ve gone over it with a coat of paint.” Louis turned back to see Harry stepping in from behind him. “It’s great, really.. It’s better than I could’ve asked for.. Thankyou.” He moved to place his luggage on the small couch that sat at the base of the room. They were silent for a moment, Louis could hear his heart thumping in his chest and he watched as Harry opened up his suitcase, reaching in to retrieve a wide-brimmed hat of his own. “Guess I gotta get used to wearing this everyday..” He popped it on his head, moving it back and forth with one hand until it sat sturdy over his dark hair. “Well, I’m ready to start whenever you want me?” His smile reached his eyes and Louis nodded, turning away to let himself out into the open again. “I’ve gotta head to work shortly. I’d say, in an hour just walk up the drive past the barn.. That’s our house up there.. Just knock, Etta - she’ll look after you today, tell you what needs to be done..” He smiled back at Harry one last time, waiting for the younger lad to nod his head in understanding. “Thanks again.” Harry called out and Louis flicked a wave over his shoulder, refusing to look back into his smouldering green eyes anymore than he already had.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy self isolating.. Getting me creative and writing lots of different things! Hope you’re keeping safe everyone! 😚


End file.
